Experience a calming 10-minute yoga sequence, perfectly suited for unwinding your entire physique in preparation for a restful night's slumber – offered by a dedicated yoga instructor.
Yoga and Pilates teacher Camelia Oberoi has created an evening yoga flow designed to help individuals relax and fall asleep quickly. This flow, which includes poses such as cat-cow, thread the needle, and modified frog pose, is a perfect way to wind down before bedtime.
According to yoga teacher Bhavini Vyas, performing yoga asanas before bed can help individuals attain deeper levels of rest. This practice can potentially improve the quality of sleep, lower cortisol levels (the stress hormone), and shift the nervous system into parasympathetic dominance, also known as the "rest and digest" state.
The evening yoga flow, as demonstrated by Oberoi, starts in a seated position on the knees, performing the cat cow pose. She then moves into a side stretch from child's pose, sweeping her inside arm in a circular motion. Oberoi also demonstrates three levels of puppy pose using yoga blocks, offering variations to suit different levels of flexibility.
Vyas recommends spending a few moments alone before bed to sink deeper into each yoga pose. By taking time for oneself before bed, individuals can potentially promote deeper sleep. Vyas's advice emphasizes the importance of this self-care routine, as it can help individuals attain a more restful sleep.
Scientific research supports the benefits of yoga before bed. For instance, evening yoga regulates cortisol rhythms, reducing elevated levels caused by chronic stress and promoting relaxation conducive to sleep. Gentle yoga poses such as forward bends, spinal twists, and diaphragmatic breathing calm the sympathetic nervous system and prime the body for rest.
Moreover, yoga releases physical and mental tension through mindfulness and asanas, helping to ease an overactive mind that often interferes with falling asleep. It improves flexibility and prevents nighttime muscle cramps by gently stretching key areas like hips, neck, and lower back.
Activating the parasympathetic nervous system via slow, deep breathing paired with movement reduces stress, anxiety, and tension, creating an ideal state for falling asleep quickly and sleeping soundly. Yoga Nidra, a form of guided yogic meditation practiced before sleep, can deepen rest and recovery by engaging brain states associated with deep sleep and stimulating human growth hormone release.
Brief, targeted yoga sessions (around 10 minutes) before bed have been shown to improve sleep quality immediately, making them an accessible and effective tool for better rest. In summary, practicing yoga before bedtime helps to physically relax the body, calm the mind, regulate hormones linked to stress, and activate the body’s natural sleep mechanisms—ultimately facilitating quicker sleep onset and more restorative sleep throughout the night.
- Camelia Oberoi's evening yoga flow, which incorporates poses like cat-cow, thread the needle, and modified frog pose, can help science-oriented individuals seeking health-and-wellness by promoting deeper sleep, lowering cortisol levels, and activating the parasympathetic nervous system, as recommended by yoga teacher Bhavini Vyas.
- For those interested in fitness-and-exercise, yoga before bedtime offers a unique combination of physical and mental benefits, such as releasing tension, improving flexibility, preventing nighttime muscle cramps, and aiding in mental calmness, making it an effective strategy for quicker sleep onset and more restorative sleep throughout the night.
- As supported by scientific research, engaging in a short, targeted yoga session (around 10 minutes) before bed enhances sleep quality immediately, leading to better overall health and wellness by activating the body's natural sleep mechanisms and regulating hormones related to stress, ultimately promoting a restful and rejuvenating sleep experience.
